Len Hiramoto is the last survivor!!!
Stopped Asakura Mikuru in the first match!
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— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_)
July 28, 2024
Fighting in front of 48,111 fans at a sold-out Saitama Super Arena, Ren Hiramoto scored the biggest win of his young mixed martial arts career in dominant fashion on Saturday at the RIZIN Fighting Federation: Super RIZIN 3 in Saitama. Hiramoto knocked out rival Mikuru Asakura in the featherweight main event to claim the RIZIN FF “Last Man Standing” title. Prior to tonight’s main event, both Hiramoto (4-3, 4-3 RIZIN) and Asakura (17-5, 1 no-kick, 11-4 RIZIN) had vowed to retire if they didn’t win. Hiramoto was seen by many as an underdog due to his lack of experience, but he looked like a veteran tonight, defeating Asakura in just 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
Early in the bout, Asakura landed two kicks, and Hiramoto responded with a powerful one. A large welt quickly appeared next to Asakura’s right knee, and as the two fighters circled each other, Hiramoto landed another powerful kick. Suddenly, Hiramoto sensed an opening and lunged forward, unleashing a combination of punches that rocked Asakura and sent him stumbling backwards. Hiramoto knocked Asakura down with a left hook to the temple, then landed a series of powerful punches on the ground for a stunning knockout victory.
Hiramoto started his professional mixed martial arts career with back-to-back losses, but has since won four of his five fights, with tonight’s victory over former RIZIN title challenger Asakura being his biggest win to date. Clever “Koike” Elbst is expected to take the next RIZIN featherweight title bout, but current champion Chihiro Suzuki, who defeated Hiramoto in March 2022, was involved in a heated argument during Hiramoto’s post-fight celebration.
The co-main event of Super Rizin 3 was a three-round 152-pound boxing bout between the legendary Manny Pacquiao and Lucia Ampo. Any fears that it would be a light sparring session were quickly alleviated as Ampo demolished Pacquiao with multiple overhand rights in the first round. There was no referee for the bout, which could only be decided by knockout or a time-out draw, but Ampo was undoubtedly the more effective striker in the first three minutes.
The second round continued in this form, with Anbo again landing some impressive overhand rights and combinations to the body. Pacquiao was hurt twice by Anbo’s punches in the final round, but he came back late in the bout, surprising Anbo with an uppercut. The two continued to trade heavy punches until the final bell rang. Due to the rules of the bout, the fight was declared a draw, but Anbo’s reputation was significantly boosted by his performance.
Yuta Kubo stops former RIZIN featherweight champion Yu Saito with a beautiful body shot!
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— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_)
July 28, 2024
In the other bout between featherweight contenders, Yuta Kubo (5-1, 5-1 RIZIN) recorded his fifth consecutive win with a second-round TKO victory over former RIZIN champion Yutaka Saito (21-9-2, 4-5 RIZIN), who had struggled since losing his title in October 2021.
The bout started slowly in the first round, but in the final minute, both fighters rocked each other with right hooks. Kubo tried to get on top with a head kick, but Saito blocked them all. Kubo wore down Saito with body kicks throughout the second round, finishing with a final front kick to the liver that sent Saito stumbling in his corner and ending the bout at 4:19 of the second round. The former K-1 champion’s takedown defense continues to improve, and his impressive winning streak has put him in title contention.
Hiromasa Ogikubo wins by UD!
Shenlong Makoto didn’t shake hands after that…
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— RIZIN.tv (@RIZINTV_)
July 28, 2024
Opening the main card, Ogikubo Hiromasa (27-8-2, 9-5 RIZIN) won a unanimous decision over former student Takahashi Makoto (17-3-1, 1 NC, 4-2 RIZIN) in a flyweight grudge match. Nothing much happened in the first round, but the pace picked up in the second after Takahashi suffered a cut above his left eye in a clash of heads. The bout continued and Ogikubo landed three quick consecutive strikes.
In the final round, Ogikubo staggered Takahashi with a left hook and applied a guillotine choke. Takahashi escaped and after briefly getting into Ogikubo’s guard, the two men got to their feet and fought in the clinch in the corner. All three judges scored the round in Ogikubo’s favor, making it his second consecutive win.
The final prelim before the break was a 130-pound catchweight bout between 24-year veteran Hideo Tokoro (36-33-1, 4-5 RIZIN) and Hiroya Kondo (8-13-1, 1-3 RIZIN), who was planning to retire after the bout. Tokoro, who dedicated the bout to his wife, who is currently battling cancer, showed glimpses of his younger self by stopping Kondo with a right hook and three elbows at 3:20 of the first round.
In other preliminary matches at bantamweight, Ryusei Ashizawa (1-1, 1-1 RIZIN) won a hard-fought battle against Koji Tanaka (1-1, 1-1 RIZIN) by unanimous decision in a sensational final five minutes for a Round of the Year contender. Reina Kubota (15-5, 14-4 RIZIN) stopped Kate Oyama (5-7, 0-1 RIZIN) with a flurry of punches at 4:18 of the second round and then claimed a shot at the RIZIN FF Women’s Super Atomweight title. At featherweight, Ren Sugiyama (2-1, 2-1 RIZIN) knocked out Hiroaki Suzuki (4-4, 4-4 RIZIN) with a one-two combination at 3:28 of the first round. Then, Kazumasa Mashima (17-5, 3-4 RIZIN) won his featherweight bout against Suguru Arai (17-10, 2-3 RIZIN) by tap-out via rear-naked choke at 3 minutes and 11 seconds into the second round.
In a flyweight bare-knuckle boxing bout, John Dodson defeated Takaki Soya by unanimous decision after five rounds, while Ty Emery won his bout against Charisa Sigala in just 37 seconds, breaking Sigala’s nose with a right hook.
